Traveler Reviews

• Saumi612 17-Feb-2023

  We have a wonderful kashmir trip with Ms Zoya from young Bombay.All the hotels and food were excellent.the driver Suhail was very supportive and cooperative.it was a great and memorable trip .we enjoyed a lot.the houseboat experience was also very good .

• Kuldip084 19-Jan-2023

  Thanks yo Young Bombay Tours and specially Zubana for organizing and planning my Kashmir Trip so well, it was completely hassle free and was happy to see the kind the followup she used to do before and during the entire trip. The Hotel rooms and the food in there was good. Enjoyed the trip. Thanks ..

• Vyastravelling 15-Jan-2023

  To preface, we are NRIs but this is still no excuse for the treatment and “holiday from H311” we received. This extensive review will be broken up in days. DAY 1 We (a group of 4 including an old grandmother) arrived in Kashmir for the first time to -3ºC (27ºF) temperatures and a missing driver. While every other tour company’s drivers had signs out with their passenger’s names, ours was smoking in the parking lot. We waited out there for 15 minutes before a kind security guard borrowed one of the other cab drivers and was able to call my driver who motioned my frail grandmother and us to walk all the way across to the parking lot, while we took our luggage behind us. The car that we were given looked like something out of a scrap junkyard with a bashed exterior, missing paint, and torn seats on the inside and no rear heating. This superficial stuff wouldn’t even matter, but the interior was reeking of cigarette smoke and it was hard to breathe. Nowhere does it tell you on their website that any existing phone plans will not work, and you need to buy one in Kashmir. This wasn’t even explained to us by the colleague, Zoya, that dealt with our entire itinerary. After being driven to some random store, we’re told that because we’re foreigners we’ll have to pay anywhere from 700-900INR (our driver told us it would be 500INR) for the phone plan. There is only one plan you can get, which has 100 texts, unlimited calls, and up to 1.5GB 4G data per day. When I put the sim in my phone, I got a confirmation that the sim has been activated for the aforementioned plan, and it actually only costs 299INR. We had to pay 700INR, so I don’t know where the discrepancy goes, but probably lining the pockets of the scammy residents of Srinagar. After spending the better part of 40 minutes doing this, our driver drops us off at breakfast. We check into our hotel, and it’s colder inside than it is outside (granted it’s still -3ºC). We were told this hotel had central heating and whether YoungBombayTours lied, or Royal Arabia hotel did, there was no central heating, so after a phone call to Zoya, she changed our hotel to Hotel Zaryab which advertises itself as being centrally heated. As we check out of the first hotel, for some unknown reason, the driver tells us that his brother will be our driver now. Where is YoungBombayTours to let us know of this change? Absent, again. We go along with it, but have no idea what is going on and no one speaks English. We continue our tour and our driver spends half the time speaking on the phone while driving, and the last part of the first day was the famous Shikhara ride. We get into our Shikhara ride (which is supposed to be 90 minutes and included in our itinerary) and the rider slowly paddles us away from the shore. Dal Lake is beautiful, but I couldn’t fully appreciate because midway the driver says that our duration is only one hour. After arguing, he says he’ll give us an extra 30 minutes out of the kindness of his heart and continues to slowly paddle. We stop for some coffee and maggi noodles on the lake, and the driver sits there talking to everyone else and starts handing everyone else food. The people that arrived 10 minutes after us received their food and drinks the same time we did. After we leave, it starts getting very cold, and we notice EVERY other boat with blankets, except for ours. When we question the rider, he says his got stolen and there’s nothing he can do. Eventually, after hearing me get angry, he asks one of his friends to borrow his and then continues to explain how we should be finished by now but he’s giving us an extra 30 minutes. For the past 15 minutes, he’s been paddling with one hand and talking to someone on his phone as well. By the end, we told him to just take us back because the whole day just felt wasted. Thinking this was the end of the horrors of Day 1, we check into our new hotel (around 1830 ish) which we have been assured as central heating. Again, we are greeted by a freezing cold foyer, and are told that central heating is there, but is only turned on from 1830-0000. We are also told this is a rule in Kashmir…. (yet another lie) Every time I think our holiday can’t get worse, Kashmir finds a way to bait and switch us again. Our hotel room was filthy, and we decided to call Zoya to see if they can help. She promised us that she sorted it, but she didn’t do anything, and it was my persistent yelling that convinced the workers to call the owner of Young Bombay Tours. His name is Omer, and initially I thought he’d be more forthcoming with his assistance, but while offering to upgrade our room, he started to blame us that we are NRIs so we’re used to a higher standard than the usual Indian one. There are two problems here. That he thinks Indians should be used to getting bad service, and that we should have paid more for a 4/5* package instead. After apologising about the morning where the driver didn’t pick us up, to my surprise - rather than refunding some of the money, he didn’t even apologise about the Shikhara ride and said verbatim “He probably just thought you were Indian” AS IF THAT’S SUPPOSED TO CHANGE ANYTHING? Why should Indians get poor treatment whether they live in India or not?! Absolutely ridiculous mentality from a ridiculous company. Then, Omer, the owner, flat out lied and said “Even if you were to stay at The Lalit or Taj, they don’t have 24/7 central heating” but proceeded to up-sell me those packages? Yet again, more bait and switch scam type lies, but this time from the owner himself. Omer then said that Zoya should have advised us of alternative packages, and that if we wanted to upgrade, then just make sure we call by the next morning so she can deal with it. When I texted Zoya, she pretended like she didn’t even know what we were talking about, and then when I pressed it, then she started chatting about upgrading the hotel. DAY 2 We decided that we couldn’t stay in the current hotel with it’s substandard hygiene conditions, and we’d be checking out of the hotel and pay the upgrade to move to a 4* with guaranteed central heating as my grandmother wouldn’t be able to tolerate it. We finished our breakfast in an ice cold room where we could literally see our breath as we breathed or spoke or ate anything. We drive off to Sonamarg, and get stuck in the ice because the company doesn’t provide a car with either snow tyres or chains. We sat there for 90 minutes, until our driver decided to do something. He, because he’s a nice guy, ended up helping other cars who also got stuck, and then told us that he would get one of the guys there to drive us to the drop off area. Sohail has undoubtedly been the best part of the entire trip, and we wouldn’t have made it without him. I wish we could have just spoken to him directly, because besides booking our hotels and driver, Young Bombay Tours didn’t do anything. The driver would pick us up from the top of the street so it meant my grandmother was forced to walk in the snow. I was adamant against this from the beginning and made it clear that she can’t walk like that in this weather, and they told her to try. She ends up falling in the snow on a rock and bruises her knee. All of which would never have happened if Young Bombay Tours got off their asses and did some actual work in organising a trip. It’s like providing a jetski to navigate a desert… It really doesn’t take much to make sure the vehicle is suitable for the conditions they’re going to be bloody driving in. Keep in mind, they live here, and are apparently one of the best tour companies in Kashmir (judging by their obviously paid/family endorsed reviews.) If this is your job, and THIS is what you provide, you aren’t fit for practice. YoungBombay never tells you anything beforehand. No “this is what you’ll do today” text in the morning. “These are the weather conditions/ look out for blah blah/ you shouldn’t pay more than x price for blah blah” NOTHING. No advice at all. They give you a generic basic itinerary which barely summarises the trip and advises of nothing. When you ask Zoya how much something costs, she lies or eventually forces out an “i don’t know, ask the driver, they’ll have a better idea” Maybe cut the lying, and go straight to “idk” next time? Then again, this is what you can expect from Young Bombay Tours. There isn’t an ounce of proactivity with this company. No advanced information if things will be cancelled. You find out at the sightseeing location that you can’t do what you thought you may have been able to, because YoungBombay doesn’t tell you anything, and when any questions are asked, Zoya will tell you “check the itinerary. The information is in there” The way this place works is that even when you have hired a private car from a tour company/guide, they can only go so far, at which point you HAVE to transfer to a local car (due to union rules in the state). There is NEVER any information of how far your private car or to which point your car will travel before you need a union car. There is no information for how far union cars go and what is included in that. The itinerary says that they will book the car for us, but when I questioned Zoya, she said “No i can’t, this is not allowed you can book on spot” but I screenshotted the itinerary THEY sent us, and it says “Local vehicle can be booked by us…” When I brought this to her attention, she ignored the text. We checked into our hotel - which is apparently a 4* (Grand Kaiser) but it’s an American motel at best. The power shuts off at least 2x/hour for a few minutes each time, and there is no functioning wifi. You can only really use it downstairs but even that’s iffy. THIS is what YoungBombay endorses as 4* and makes you pay for. Day 3 & 4 More of the same stuff as above. The lack of organisation and information from YoungBombay who should be responsible enough to tell us ALL of the information from the beginning is SORELY lacking. No proactivity from the company, nothing more than shallow apologies (sometimes), and a general disregard for anything other than their money, Idk how this company has survived this long. Sohail, our driver, has been the only good thing to come out of this. There is no quality control with this company, nor any protection against daily scamming, lying, and daylight robbery from their accomplices. When you have an issue at one point, ALL of the people in this area are connected to each other, so they will call everyone, so when you continue your itinerary on following days, everyone is aware of what happened at the previous place and we were actively discriminated against because we spoke up about the injustices to the point where one person even said “we don’t want any of yesterday’s attitudes to happen to us” Final Words: We paid our initial 15k deposit, and after upgrading to a 4* we had a remaining balance to pay. Their rule is to pay deposit before arrival, and the remaining on arrival. Our initial plan for the 4 night 5 day package was 60k, but we confirmed at 56,000INR which is A LOT considering all we get is a driver to take us to barely the beginning of each point (No more than ~600km total driving distance for all days) and our unhygienic 2* hotels with whatever breakfast/dinner at those places. After upgrading to a 4*, we haggled and confirmed on a price of an extra 16k, bringing our total to 72,000INR. WHO in ANY country expects all of the remaining money after a deposit on arrival. No reputable company in any country does this, and I’ve travelled to every continent. Even in Gujarat, we took a taxi that went around Gujarat, Rajasthan, UP, Agra, and all the way up to Delhi and back and besides the initial deposit, payment was expected at the END of the trip. We had paid 45k on Day 3, so all that was remaining was 12,000. Zoya called the driver to make him pay us, but the driver is a principled man and refused to get caught in the middle. Zoya’s next tactic was to threaten us saying that she’s told the hotel to not let us check out, or that the hotel will not let us leave until we’ve paid the bill. After a barrage of humiliating and threatening texts, we had told her that money transfers from the US take time to send over but she will get the money. We’ve already paid 60k of the trip, so it’s so silly to think we would have just left without paying the remainder? After trying to explain multiple times, she doesn’t understand, because she doesn’t speak English, so she lies and says that she does, and then later when there is a miscommunication she says sorry to absolve herself of all fault. She went and told the hotel that we had to pay otherwise we wouldn’t be able to check out. It’s not the business of anyone but Young Bombay and me, but she’s told my driver and the hotel and involved everyone in our business. It’s shameful for the company to even do this. It’s disgusting to treat anyone the way we’ve been treated. The cherry on the cake is that Young Bombay and Hotel Grand Kaisar tried to extort more money out of us, because the manager at the hotel said our final balance to pay was 28,000 and Zoya was apparently the one who told him that. He called her, and she didn’t deny anything, so I decided to call her myself. After she ignored my phone call twice, I texted her to tell her to pick up the phone and she finally did, and when I told her that the hotel is trying to get 28,000 out of me, she apologises and says that there was a miscommunication and that it was only 12,000. We were pulled out in the lobby in front of everyone when all of this has happened. I wish I had never chosen this tour company and I wish I had never visited Kashmir. This trip has been nothing but a waste of time and money. PLEASE listen and heed this warning. I am an avid traveller with lots of experience, and NEVER have I experienced such disgusting, unprofessional, and lazy treatment of any tour company. I don’t know how they received such high scores, and am thoroughly convinced that they’re either paid reviews, or family/friend endorsements. If even one person is deterred from giving this company business, I’d have done my job. Please save your money, respect, and time and do not give these people an ounce of attention. There are plenty of tour companies out there that are much better, and will include almost everything. Even the things in our itinerary weren’t done because the company couldn’t be bothered to confirm anything with the drivers or let us know of any alternatives. There is corruption everywhere here, because they’re all connected to each other, so please be careful about who you book with, but anyone will be better than this company. From the staff to the owner, they’re just interested in your money, and will lie and do just about anything to make sure they get it from you.

• Sushilmandot1 29-Dec-2022

  We booked the tour from zubana from young bombay , she understand all the things what was needed in the trip, All the hotels shee booked was very good, pickup was from Jammnu we booked 6 nights 7 days trip and all the arrangements , driver was very good,

• Deep B 17-Dec-2022

  While searching for a good honeymoon package, suddenly I got a overview of Young Bombay Tour group and visited their website. After looking some positive reviews I had connected with Zoya madam, one of their responsible employee of Young Bombay Tour group, and conveyed her about our planning of our upcoming honeymoon trip. She had arranged everything regarding our trip and guided us everyday during our tour. Really it was a remarkable and wonderful experience I had ever have. I am really thankful to Young Bombay Tour group and specially to Zoya madam for conducting this successful trip and giving us an enjoyable and wonderful memory. For all of my friends and the strangers, who are reading my post, I am surely recommending the Young Bombay Tour group as a responsible trip planner of Kashmir for any of your future trip.

• Liam L 17-Mar-2022

  One of the best trip i have ever had. enjoyed the scenery and really a heaven on earth. and the hospitality and service from young bombay team was so good that it felt like everything is arranged by a friend. Ms Zubana was very helpful in everything we ask and made sure we are being taken care of. At the end of the day she will message and check if everything went okay and if we have anything that we needed. Thank you very much Ms Zubana for the hospitality and warmth we have received from everyone despite the cold weather of Kashmir 😊.

• Kannaws 05-Jan-2022

  We booked a 5nights/ 6days Winter Tour package of 25 persons including kids through Young Bombay. The Young Bombay has a very active support team and the response to any query is very quick. Special praise to Ms. Zubana who helped us a lot during the booking process and also throughout the tour. The quality, cleanliness, Food, and services of Hotels were as below- Gulmarg - Very Good, Staff - Good, Food- Good Srinagar House Boat - Good, Staff- Good, Food- Very Good Pahalgam - Average, Staff - Very Good, Food- Average Srinagar - Poor, Staff - Very poor, Food- Poor Tour driver- Knowledge and skilled Overall, a good memorable experience. However, there is a scope for improvement in the selection of hotels.

• Aminalokhand 04-Jan-2022

  We connected with Zubana, who was in touch with us before, during and after the Kashmir Trip. She ensured that we were well taken care of and we did not face hiccups throughout our journey. She and her team took good care of us. Thank you for making our trip a memorable one.

• Pratikmw55 17-Nov-2021

  Kashmir Truly Heaven in India ! It was our first time to travel Kashmir as me and my wife had a good time while traveling with Adil. He showed us each and every spot and guided us from every point. I would highly recommend Adil bhai as our driver and guide. He gave us all information regarding every spot Everything about the Kashmir trip was absolutely amazing. Felt amazing traveling to Kashmir. We got a chance to see what each town and tourist place has to offer. I and my wife appreciates the Kashmir travel company for such a great time in Kashmir and also huge thanks to Adil bhai for guiding us properly everytime. The next trip will be soon again to Kashmir Thank you !

• Bipul12345 02-Nov-2021

  My first trip to Kashmir :::: It was a most memorable trip in our life. Pahalgram, Gulmarg, Sonamarg...etc all are extremely beautiful. We are thankful to Young Bombay Tour and Travels.. and I have to mention that Zoya, Adil bhai...all are nice person. Thank you to Omer ji. Really it was a nice arrangement for us.